“God’s bones, my lord! What happened to your foot? And why are there bruises around your neck?” Halfred demanded after bowing in greeting to each of them.
“Don’t worry yourself. Lord James and I had a little disagreement, but we sorted it out. Did we not, my lord?” He gave the earl his iciest smile. While Lord James had three menwith him, there were far more Winchelsea men on boardThe Wind Songat the moment. If the blackguard tried anything, he would be severely outnumbered. At that thought, Martin’s smile grew. The man’s hubris would be his downfall. “Will, get Timothy and accompany Lady Isabella to the cabin. She wishes to retrieve some things for a longer stay here in Yarmouth.”
Will blinked and stared for a long moment. There was no Timothy on their crew.
Martin winked discreetly at him, and Will’s eyes widened in comprehension.
“Of course, my lord,” the youth said, hurrying to Isabella’s side and offering an arm. “Timothy is working on repairs belowdecks. I’ll take Lady Isabella to the cabin and go fetch him. Come with me, my lady.”
Isabella caught his eye for just a moment. For a split second, her gaze was raw and unguarded, and his heart stuttered seeing all the concern and affection there. But she looked away quickly, squaring her shoulders and striding forward with purpose. “Take me below, boy, and be quick about it,” she snapped, her haughty mask back in place.
To his relief, Lord James didn’t bother to send anyone to follow her. Now for his part of the ruse. “Halfred, I need the key I told you to hide—the one to the secret chest.” God bless Halfred because he didn’t even blink at the lie. “And be quick about it. None of your absent-minded dilly-dallying,” Martin said, as if Halfred had ever dilly-dallied in his life. “Lord James needs the papers I keep hidden in that chest. Do not, I repeat, donotkeep us waiting. Time is of the essence. The repercussions of any delay would be most unfortunate.”
Martin could only pray that Halfred got the message that he was to draw this out.
“Understood, my lord,” Halfred answered with a careful nod. “Let me go below and look for it. I will return with it as soon as Ifind it. I’ve hidden it well. It may take me some time to retrieve it.”
Good. He understood.
“Then hurry, man. We can’t wait all day,” Lord James grumbled.
“You don’t mind if I sit, do you?” Martin made his way gingerly over to a crate and sat down. “Halfred is a good man, but he’s sometimes forgetful. It may be some time before he brings up that key.”
What a blessed relief it was to take his weight off his injured foot. He wasn’t sure he could remain standing much longer.
“Ned,” Martin called out, and the man came running. “Bring up some wine for our guests. We might as well refresh ourselves while we wait. And while you’re down there, check on the contents of the chest next to the door of the hold on the starboard side.” Martin—and Ned, and the other men—knew was full of weapons. “And get the other men working below to help you. There are thieves and brigands about.” He flicked his gaze to Lord James. “We wouldn’t want anything to happen to our cargo. Would you care for a game of chess, my lord, to pass the time?” he asked, turning to Lord James.
“Never liked chess,” Lord James grumbled.
“No, I suppose not. You don’t seem like the intellectual type. Dice then, perhaps?”
Lord James’s only answer was a low rumbling noise in his throat.
At that moment, Isabella climbed back up on the deck, trailed by six men carrying crates and trunks. “I have my things,” she announced airily. “Just a few necessities, since we’ll be staying a very long time.”
The men proceeded to the gangplank and instead of descending, they piled everything up to block the exit from the boat.
“What are you doing, you lazy dogs? Take them to the castle,” Lord James bellowed, rising and storming over to the offending men, who all drew swords as he approached. “What’s this? What do you think you’re doing?” The man turned bright red, his fury boiling over as he realized he was trapped.
As if on cue, Halfred led a dozen armed men up onto the deck from below, and they swiftly surrounded the earl and his men, who had all drawn their swords, ready to fight.
“Entertaining as it would be to watch you get torn to shreds, my lord,” Isabella said as she approached the earl with a triumphant smile, “I need you to bring my sister back. The game is up. You cannot win. Send Adelaide to me, and let us all depart, or I let my husband take his revenge for all you’ve done. I assure you he’ll make it slow and painful.”
Lord James laughed. “This is my land. Yarmouth is filled with my people. If I call out to say their lord is in danger, men will come swarming to my rescue.”
“I think you overestimate your popularity,” Isabella said dryly. “But we have taken other precautions. Would you like to tell him, Martin, or should I? It was your idea. I think you should do the honors.” Isabella walked at a leisurely pace over to Martin and put an arm through his, then kissed him on the cheek.
A rush of pride flowed through him, knowing that this glorious woman was his. “We sent two letters with Timothy just now—one to King Stephen and one to Henry, Duke of Normandy—accusing you of betraying their trust. He’s awaiting our signal about whether to proceed with delivering them. If you let us leave Yarmouth with Adelaide today, he will destroy the letters. If you try to prevent our departure, the letters will go out, and you’ll lose everything.”
The earl scowled. “You think I can’t find a measly messenger in Yarmouth?”
Martin shrugged. “You can try, but Timothy knows how to disappear and avoid even the most determined pursuers. Did you even notice him leaving this ship right under your very nose?”
Of course, he couldn’t have since Timothy didn’t exist.
Meanwhile, Lord James’s face grew thunderous as his neck and face turned puce. It was far too much fun taunting the earl.
“That’s what I thought.” Martin’s grin couldn’t be wider. His cheeks were starting to ache with it. “Drop your sword and tell your men to do the same.”
